Heads up, tents at Asda

[queeg9000]

Just a brief note, in Asda today, there's one near where I work at forest farm in Cardiff, they've got an offer on small 2 man tents down to £7.
They're not the best in the world, but for £7 they're an excellant backup to a tarp if there's no trees around, and fairly light weight. They'll fit 2 people nicely, and are made to a fair level too.

There's also an inner flyscreen, to keep the bugs out and keep you cool!

There's a 3 man tent too with a front canopy, for £15, and some back packing kits including knapsack, aluminium drinks bottle, and a few other bits for £7 as well.

Here's a picture of the 2 man tent, and the sizes.

I thought it was a bargain, or ideal for someone who wants to try camping, for little outlay.

 

[Eric_Methven]

The festival brigade will be buying them. Some of them treat them as disposable. It's amazing the number of these you see abandoned after the festival and just left there.

Eric

 

[Steve R]

The festival brigade will be buying them. Some of them treat them as disposable. It's amazing the number of these you see abandoned after the festival and just left there.

Eric

As we write my stepson is at the Download festival, attendees have been encouraged to leave their tents, seems the organisers (or someone) is going to collect up the tents and send them off to third world countries as emergency shelters.

Maybe more festivals should do this.

 

[Matt Weir]

As we write my stepson is at the Download festival, attendees have been encouraged to leave their tents, seems the organisers (or someone) is going to collect up the tents and send them off to third world countries as emergency shelters.

Maybe more festivals should do this.

Fantastic idea

 

[queeg9000]

Re-using these types of tent for third world countries is a superb idea, especially if the festival goers just abandon them.

It's a sjhame more of these festivals don't do the same thing, but I guess it costs someone money to ship them, so not as easy as it sounds.

 

[Jared]

Cool.

Seems these guys, Global Hand, are behind it

http://www.globalhand.org/givemeshelter/givemeshelter-home/

 

[xylaria]

I gave one of my family size tents away to the pakistan earthquake. Awful tent, nylon aluminum pole ridge tent. I say it was comfy up 3 season, but the bloke I gave it to was really grateful. I explained that I felt it was wholey inadequate for the foothills of the Himalayas. I dread to think of the situations where tents that are obviously worse than that one are given away to people in utter disparate need. To be truthful would any of us think we could sleep safely in one of those 10£ tents in anything outside the British summer. I am not keen on the idea of palming off our junk to the third world, thinking we are doing them good.

 

[Jared]

I am not keen on the idea of palming off our junk to the third world, thinking we are doing them good.

I did wonder too. Hence why I looked up and read about the process.

Its demand driven. Aid agencies requests Global Hand for things. Global Hand tries to meet the demand. So if aid agencies thought they're we're getting junk, they wouldn't use GH.

http://www.globalhand.org/givemeshelter/more-info .

 

[xylaria]

For type of things they are using it for, these tents are totally suitable.

• At an Aids day care centre in Botswana.
• At summer camps for children living in impoverished conditions, in Eastern Europe.
• In Sri Lanka, at a day care centre for street children.

I just had momentary visions of a Darfur family squashed into a tesco green flower tent trying to survive. The UN provide good quality tents normally in these circumstances and those tents are a waste of cargo if mixed with Aid. Pakastan was unique as the tent manufacturers where knocked out in the quake.

Also there is an aspect where festival go-ers are encouraged to leave there camping equiptment in a field with the idea to can help in disasters.